Intha
The Intha ( အင်း သား လူမျိုး , ang: sa: lu myui. , IPA : ɪɴðá lùmjóʊ , "people of the lake", from in , "Lake" and tha , "People") belong to a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group in the area of Inle- Lake . They are believed to be originally from the Dawei area as they speak a similar archaic dialect to the Burmese language .
About 70,000 Intha live in the four cities on the shores of Inle Lake, in many small villages along its shores and on the lake itself. The entire area around the lake is part of the urban area of Nyaung Shwe . There are also other Shan peoples in the area such as Taungyo, Pa-O (Taungthu), Danu , Kayah , Danaw and Bamar . Most of them are devout Buddhists and live in simple stilt houses made of wood and woven bamboo . They are mostly self-sufficient farmers.
Transport on the lake traditionally takes place with small boats or now with larger boats with a long-tail engine, which is advantageous because of the shallow depth of the lake. Fishermen are known to row with one leg , which gives them a particularly good view of the vegetation under the water. Female rowers usually hold the oar in their hands while sitting cross-legged or with their legs drawn up on the stern platform of the boat.
The characteristic musical instrument of the Intha is a certain form of the cup drum ozi with a length of 1.5 meters, a diameter of one meter and a wide foot. In addition to this huge drum, which has to be held at an angle when playing, the ensemble includes large hump- back gongs and pair cymbals .
Web links
- Kyaw Zin Aung Soe: Struggle with Uncertainties: Livelihood of the Intha in Inle Lake of Myanmar. (PDF; 1.0 MB) Second International Conference on International Relations and Development. Chiang Mai, 26.-27. July 2012
Individual evidence
- ^ Gavin Douglas: Performing Ethnicity in Southern Shan State, Burma / Myanmar: The Ozi and Gong Traditions of the Myelat. In: Ethnomusicology, Vol. 57, No. 2, Spring / Summer 2013, pp. 185–206, here p. 189